The big over doze: White House petition demands end of 'annoying' Daylight Savings ahead of spring forward

While the citizenry prepares to spring forward once again in the name of Daylight Savings Time, a pollster warns that the time change could create a “sleep starved society of epidemic proportions.” Meanwhile, more than 7,000 people have already signed a White House petition in the last 48 hours that seeks to do away with the practice:

“We petition the Obama administration to eliminate the bi-annual time change caused by Daylight Savings Time.

Daylight Savings Time is an archaic practice in our modern society. The original reasons for the policies are no longer applicable, and the most cited reason for keeping DST (energy savings has never been shown to be true.

Some industries still like DST (like sporting equipment retailers), but there are many more who dislike the changed hours (like television).

The real issue, however is not the later hours or extra sunlight. Studies have shown that changing the clocks is responsible for health problems (including increased heart attack and vehicular accident risks) and leads to hundreds of thousands of hours of lost productivity in workplaces across the country. Also: It’s really annoying.

And about that poll. A Better Sleep Council survey of 1,038 people released this week finds that 61 percent of Americans say they continue to feel the effects of daylight saving time on Monday. They’re less productive, moody and many say that rocking the clock affects their entire week.

Some got forgetful, others were “irrational.” And on the list of weird stuff people have done following the time change:

Got in shower with their underwear on, went to an ATM to order food, walked into the wrong public bathroom, told an off-color joke, threw out their paycheck by mistake and went to work on their day off.

“The survey verified what many experts have said for years. One hour of sleep loss generates a sleep-starved society of epidemic proportions,” the Council insists.